Review of Oblivion (2013) by Nesbitt10 — 23 Jul 2013

While visually arresting and primed with action-sequences, "Oblivion" compromises its technical accomplishments with a disheveled script that helps itself liberally from numerous science fiction films. That being said, that doesn’t mean that much of it’s audience won’t find this fairly engaging and entertaining. Tom Cruise returns to the realms of science fiction, collaborating with director Joseph Kosinski "Tron: Legacy" (2010), in a big screen adaptation of his unpublished graphic novel.

Like a great deal of science fiction films, “Oblivion” requires a lengthy prologue in order to contextualize the viewer to the imaginative world they are being introduced to. In this case, that world is actually our own, just not at all like we know it. In 2077, 60 years after an alien invasion triggered a nuclear war that decimated the planet, the human race has all but abandoned Earth for Titan, the largest of Saturn's moons. Tom Cruise plays Jack Harper, one of the last few drone repairmen stationed on an Earth which has been abandoned for years following decades of war with a group known as the Scavs. Along with his wife Victoria (Andrea Riseborough), they maintain the fleet of drones, protecting the earth from the threat of the Scavs. Yet, when a series of drones go down, and a spaceship crashes with a beautiful survivor Julia (Olga Kurylenko) on board, Jack finds his life changed forever as everything he knows, (or thinks he knows), is blown apart.

"Oblivion" is an incredible piece of visual sci-fi eye candy; sleek, a wonderfully realized world of day-after-tomorrow style technology, including some brutally intense fight sequences. It's one of those films that demands it to be watched on the biggest screen you can possibly find. The world “Oblivion” paints is certainly a striking one, but the emptiness that now dominates the planet inevitably also permeates throughout the picture itself. This is the underlining problem with "Oblivion." The movie comes off as merely a derivative of other well-done, successful science fiction films. So much creativity went into the visual design that apparently little was left when crafting the plot. The movie liberally borrows from “WALL-E” (2008), “Total Recall” (1990), “Independence Day” (1996), “Planet of the Apes” (2001), and “Moon” (2009), that it often veers dangerously close into lawsuit territory.

"Oblivion" is admirable in its look and style, but the film is not unique or exceptional. It holds its own as the mystery initially plays out, and you do find yourself drawn in, but as the pieces begin to slot together, you can't help but feel you've seen it all before. Like the drones and Cruise himself “Oblivion” is competent, durable, and undeniably mechanical.